Last offseason I wrote a primer covering every angle of a potential Andrew McCutchen trade. The Pirates didn't end up trading McCutchen, although they came close.

A big part of the primer involved the emotional aspect of trading McCutchen and the business side of a deal. I'm not going to recap that, except to point out that the business side has clearly won over the emotional side in the last year. When McCutchen struggles, which he has done for months at a time in each of the last two seasons, fans are open to the idea of letting him go. That's a nice way of saying they boo him, and get upset that the Pirates didn't trade him at a high value.

When McCutchen performs like he did in June and July this year, everyone is on board the extension bandwagon. That of course is when his trade...

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Tim is the owner and editor in chief of Pirates Prospects. He started the site in January 2009, and turned it into his full time job during the 2011 season. Prior to starting Pirates Prospects, Tim worked with AccuScore.com, providing MLB, NHL, and NFL coverage to various national media outlets, including ESPN Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, and the Wall Street Journal. He also writes the annual Prospect Guide, which is sold through the site. Tim lives in Bradenton, where he provides live coverage all year of Spring Training, mini camp, instructs, the Bradenton Marauders, and the GCL Pirates.